


Ninjago Rise of the Next Spinjitzu Masters: Odyssey

by Lemon_gecko_726



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Action, Gen, Next-Gen, Other, coming of age (ig lol), i am way too into a show about LEGO'S
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:01:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24082501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lemon_gecko_726/pseuds/Lemon_gecko_726
Summary: Its been years since the Ninja have needed to defend Ninjago.  They've all grown up, most of them married, and they all have started families.  After so many years of peace, life couldn't be more perfect in Ninjago right? Well you'd be very wrong if that's what you thought.  When a new villain arises and threatens the peace Ninjago has enjoyed for many years, it's up to the cities favorite heroes to suit up once more.  However, when the ninja discover they can't stop this villain, it's time for a new team of elementalist's to step in and save the day.  Who are these new heroes you ask? Why, the children of the Ninja of course! Join this team of teens try to master their elemental powers and save the world while also trying to balance the trials and tribulations of that come with being sophomores at Ninjago City High School.
Relationships: Akita/Lloyd Garmadon, Kai/Skylor (Ninjago), Nya/Jay Walker, P.I.X.A.L./Zane (Ninjago)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15





	1. The Calm before the Storm

The sunrise shined bright and elegantly across the city of Ninjago, especially from the monastery outside of town. One particular teenager found the image rather endearing, as he leaned on the rail on the balcony attached to his room. He stood there in a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants as he stared at the warm shades of pink and yellow that colored the sky. He sighed, and proceeded to take a sip from the tea in the warm mug that his hand wrapped. The morning was peaceful and serene, it was almost perfect…….almost.

**“AAARRRRTTTTTHHHHHUUUUURRRRRR”**

Arthur groaned, he knew that whine anywhere. “You know if you were any louder you could wake up all of Ninjago” , he turned around to see an annoyed tween girl.

“Arthur c’mon!!!!! Why are you still in your pajama's ? It’s a school day!”. The boy groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Imelda, the sun is still rising, we have plenty of time before school, did you eat breakfast? No one should be this irritated this early in the morning, especially a little kid like yourself.”

The tween scrunched her nose in disagreement, “Arthur, I may be 12 but I’m only 4 years younger than you, and it’s not too early because it takes 15 minutes to get to the bottom of the mountain to make it to the bus stop, the very bus that will be here in 30 minutes, not to mention if we miss the bus we miss school and father will be furious if we do. So you’ve got 10 minutes or I’m leaving without you”.

Arthur’s jaw dropped a little, how could he forget the laborious and stressful walk to the bus stop? Arthur started to chug what was left of his tea as his sister made her way back into his room and the monastery. Before she left, the girl turned her head to face the teenager taking a deep breath after finishing his tea. “Also”, she started, “I packed your cross country bag for you last night, it’s on your bed, don’t forget it please, I don’t think father can handle another one of your coaches flip outs because you forgot your stuff”.

Arthur chuckled and looked at his sister, “thanks Imelda” he wheezed. She chuckled before looking at her wrist watch, “You now have 8 minutes bro, get a move on”, and with that Imelda vanished into the darkness. Arthur took one last look at the sun rise before running into his room to get dressed.

\---

It was usually a miracle if Arthur managed to get to school on time, and it was even more rare for Arthur to be early, thankfully today was one of those rare days. Arthur navigated his way through the groups of band kids talking about auditions and the stoner kids planning a potluck, which was code for the perfect place to smoke, and continued his route to his locker. As he approached, he felt a hard slap on his right shoulder, normally he would have winced but he knew the warmth of that hand from anywhere.

“Hey Brooklyn” he chuckled as a smile crept onto his face.

“A-dog, what's good buddy? You got a race today?”Brooklyn said, being every so peppy as she took a sip of her coffee, Arthur knew she was probably on her third or fourth cup.

“Nope, just practice today” he winced as he rubbed out his shoulder, “Congrats on the win yesterday at the game, I heard you set a new record”.

Brooklyn chuckled and pushed her bangs out of her face, “Well not to brag, but I did set a new state record, I totally crushed it!! No wonder they made me a captain!”. Arthur smiled and lightly shoved his friend, Brooklyn may not have been the smartest, but boy was she athletic. She signed up to do volleyball at the club fair during the last couple days of eighth grade. The summer of freshman year for her was spent at the school training, and she was the only incoming freshman to not only make varsity, but was in the top three for placement testing, so it wasn’t a major surprise that during the summer going into sophomore year her coach made her captain; Brooklyn was a champion.

As Arthur started putting in his combination to his locker, he heard giggling behind him and quickly realized who it was. Ever since freshman year, the girls of the tennis team wouldn’t stop flirting with him, which at first he thought was endearing, but now he just finds flat out annoying.

“Hey!” Brooklyn barked, which quickly stopped the giggling from the fan girls, “It is 8 in the morning, could you please stop thirsting for him before I spew up the four cups of coffee I downed. Give the man some space!”, and just like that, the girls were gone. Brooklyn leaned against a locker and let out a loud sigh, which made Arthur chuckle. “What’s so funny, pretty boy? Is that your way of thanking me for saving you from those….. She-demons”.

Arthur opened up his locker and looked at Brooklyn. “I knew you had four cups of coffee, you know you’re addicted to the stuff right?”

Brooklyn stared at Arthur blankly, merely responding with, “I’m not addicted, I could not drink it, but if I didn’t have I would have used those girls heads as volleyballs during practice”, there was a moment of silence, before the two started laughing hysterically. Not long into the curse of hysterical laughter that plagued both of them, the warning bell rang.

Brooklyn wiped the tears from her eyes, “Well that was a nice way to start my morning, I gotta get going to English, see you at lunch?”

Arthur smiled “Obviously, you better get moving, English is on the other side of the school”.

Brooklyn giggled and merely responded, “What I would give for Marius’s super speed right now, whelp I’m out, gotta give a presentation on the rhetorical appeals in ‘The Cardinals Eye’, aka the dumbest book ever. See you in Geometry loser” she said, and proceeded to slap his other shoulder, causing him to wince.

“Bye dork” Arthur retorted, but she was long gone by the time the words left his mouth. Arthur sighed, threw his cross country bag in his locker, grabbed his books for his morning classes, and made his way to physics, the “perfect” way to start his usually hectic day.

\---

After 5 and half hours of torturous learning, Arthur made his way to his least favorite, but last, class of the day. Arthur didn’t hate geometry, and he was really good at it, but the teacher made the class a living hell. The best part about having the class last was that at least he’d be ending his day with his friends, people who he basically grew up with. He made his way into the classroom and took his seat with all of his friends, the other major perk being the teacher let the students pick their seats, so the gang was able to sit next to each other. Before Arthur could even say a hello, the professor walked in and slammed the door, “Take your seats students we have no time to waste”, with that Arthur sat down and merely waved to his friends.

“Alright students, time for attendance, when you hear your name please raise your hand nice and high for me.” The older woman took out a clipboard and proceeded to call out the names of all the students, she called ten names before making it to the group of friends.

“Sadie Brookstone?”, a strong arm rose up from the girl sitting to Arthur right, “present!”

“Wonderful” the teacher said with a slight smile, it was very clear that Sadie was a favorite.

“Seymour Julian?” A hand rose from the boy sitting to the left of Arthur, “present”.

“Zelda Julian”, the girl behind Sadie rose her hand, “here”.

“Marius Walker?”, the boy in front of Seymour raised his hand, “hi”.

“Arthur Garmadon?”, some girls in the class turned and smiled suggestively at him, while some guys looked ready to beat him into the ground, Arthur assumed that must be the boyfriends, “here” he muttered before sinking into his desk.

The teacher continued to read names until she made it to the bottom of the list. At first she hesitated before she sighed and said, “Brooklyn...Smith”

Brooklyn shot her hand up and said “Don’t fret Mrs. Alvarez, I am very much here and ready to learn” she said with a wink. Mrs. Alvarez forced a smile and grit her teeth as she said _“Great”_.

The group looked at each other before quietly chuckling, it was moments like this that made the class more tolerable.

\---

Arthur made his way down the concrete stairs of the school. Because Clarence was late, the guys had to run an extra 4 miles, which meant he missed the bus back home.

Arthur stared at his phone, he had about 2 hours until the bus went to the mountain, _“Looks like I’ve got some time to kill”_ he thought to himself. He texted Imelda to let father know he was gonna be late,after he took a seat on the last stair and looked at his phone, he sighed and tried to think of ways to keep him occupied until the bus came. He stared up at the sky and tried to come up with ideas when out nowhere he heard, “Arthur”?

Arthur whipped his head around to see Zelda and Marius at the top of the staircase. “What are you doing here dude?” Marius said.

Zelda looked around before opening part of her arm and turning off a software that made her appear human, revealing her metallic skin under her school clothes. “According to the schedule for the Ninjago City Shuttle Service, your bus route left 40 minutes ago? Why did you miss it?”

Arthur rubbed the back of his neck and sheepishly said, “Coach made us run a couple extra miles today as punishment”.

Marius winced at the thought, “that sounds rough buddy, well Zelda and I planned on grabbing some dinner at Chen’s, wanna come?”

Arthur felt his stomach growl at the thought of food, he nodded and replied “Dinner sounds great”.

\---  
Not only was Brooklyn’s mom a master of ember and mother to 6, soon to be 7, kids, but she also is managing to run one of the most powerful noodle making companies in all of Ninjago. The three teens walked in and took a seat at a table. It was weird for Arthur to be hanging out with friends outside of school, the six of them used to always hang out, but as they got closer to high school the time spent with each other greatly lowered too.

“So how’s fencing been? It must be absolutely crazy hard” Arthur jokes, trying to make small talk with the duo.

“Well it’s not too bad, it beats having run 30 billion miles and having to run 20 trillion more because someone didn’t tie their shoe the right way” Marius joked, the three of them chuckled.

“It’s a marvel to me that Coach Netvor still has a job, it seems his methods of coaching are rather cruel and unusual”. Zelda questioned, “if anything he’s more of a ticking time bomb rather than a person if you ask me”. The boys laughed at Zelda’s comment, both knowing she was trying to make a joke. That was the cool thing about Zelda, besides her insides being made of 1’s and 0’s, she never really acted like a robot, she was always social, funny, caring; she was always more human.

Zelda leaned into her seat, appearing more comfortable with her atmosphere, “Well I’m glad fencing for you has been nice Marius, the girls on the ladies fencing team are super sweet…. Until it’s time to spar”.

  
Before Marius could respond a woman approached the table with a pitcher of water and three glasses. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t my favorite teenage sword fighter’s” she joked.

Marius chuckled as he leaned a bit into the table, “Hi Aunt Skylor”.

Zelda beamed the woman a smile and waved as she set down the glasses and poured each of them some water. “Arthur Garmadon, it’s nice to see you. Gosh I think last time I saw you was freshman orientation, how have you been”?

Arthur took a second to realize she was right, it had been over a year since he’d seen his best friend's mom, and a part of that upset him. “I’m good, cross country has been kicking my butt, other than that I’m doing pretty ok”.

Skylor gave Arthur a warm smile, Marius took a sip of his water before noticing his Aunt giving him a look that said, _I’m happy to see this kid, but shouldn’t he be at home by now?_ _He’s not usually supposed to be out super late_. “Arthur missed his bus and he has time-”

“1 hour, 48 minutes and 35 seconds, to be exact” Zelda chimed in. Marius darted his eyes to Zelda before taking another sip and continuing, “thanks Zelda, anyway we thought since he has some time to kill he could come to dinner with us, spend some time with our friend”. Skylor refilled Marius’s glass, seeing as how he basically chugged it,

“Well then let’s get you athlete’s some food, the sooner you order the sooner I can close up shop”.

  
The three ordered and shortly after people slowly started to make their way out of the restaurant. Seeing as Skylor was 4 months pregnant and Kai didn’t want her overworking, she started closing shop a little earlier than normal, but she had no problem letting her nephew and friends' kids stay and eat. Soon enough the food came, Marius ordered a bowl of ramen, Zelda opting for some white rice, and Arthur ordered two rolls of sushi. Within minutes the boys finished their meals, and continued to chat while Zelda continued eating, savoring her dinner and this time spent with friends.

The bell on top of the door to the shop rang gently, alerting the friends that someone had entered, they all turned to see an exhausted and frazzled Brooklyn. Brooklyn noticed her friends and proceeded to trudge over to their table. She grabbed a chair and sunk into it, mumbling to herself. Zelda slid the girl her bowl of rice, which was half way full, as well as a clean pair of chopsticks and simply asked, “long practice”?

Brooklyn snatched the bowl and chopsticks and stated, “long doesn’t even cover it Zel”.

Zelda chuckled and looked over at Arthur, “Your bus back to the monastery should be arriving soon, want me to walk you there? It’s on route to my house so it’s not out of the way”. Arthur looked hesitant to leave Marius alone, feeling like he’d be splitting the group up.

Maybe Marius knew he was feeling that because he nudged Arthur and said, “Yeah let the lady escort you, I live close to Brooklyn so my Aunt is gonna take me home, no need to worry buddy”. Arthur took a look at Marius and Zelda, then looked at Brooklyn, who looked about ready to collapse into the bowl of rice in front of her.

Arthur let out a sigh,grabbed all his bags, stood up and simply replied “Yeah, let’s get going”.

\---

The bus ride back to the mountain was quiet, probably because no one in their right mind would go leave the city this late.

He had put on a dark green hoodie, it belonged to his dad, and put in his earbuds to listen to some tunes. He texted Imelda that he was on his way home, to which she replied a thumbs up.

The music released any tension he had, he was full of yummy food, and his bus seat was surprisingly comfortable, why he could have fallen asleep, and he almost did, until his phone started buzzing. He unlocked it to see Marius sending pictures of Brooklyn fast asleep, and a video of her snoring, the thread made him chuckle as Zelda and Sadie were warning him that when Brooklyn sees the chat he’s pretty much dead.

After sending a laughing emoji he noticed that Imelda sent him a message. _“Just a heads up bro, fathers at the bottom of the mountain to walk with you back to the monastery, said he wants to talk :/ “_. Arthur felt a little nauseous with anxiety, what could possibly be so important to his dad that he couldn’t wait for Arthur to get back to the monastery?

Theories started to swirl through his head, trying to predict the conversation, but before he could pick a scenario the bus came to a halt at the stop. As Arthur got off the bus he saw him, the famous green ninja, the savior of Ninjago,his father; _Lloyd Garmadon._

  
The first couple minutes were long and awkward. Silence plagued both father and son, unsure how to get conversation going, eventually Arthur cleared his throat and made the first move. “Imelda texted me earlier, she said you wanted to talk”?

Arthur stared into his father’s eyes, glowing with power, “Yes, that’s right.” Lloyd said, very calm and collected. There was another moment of silence before Lloyd spoke again. “I’ve received reports of strange activity in a village a couple days from Ninjago. The ninja and I are leaving at dawn to go investigate, I’m trusting you to help your mother with the monastery".

Arthur looked up at the lights glowing from the monastery, he had spent the last couple minutes of the trip trying to find the right way to word his question. As Arthur watched his father begin to open the gate, he blurted out, “Is it dangerous”?

Lloyd looked down at his son, “if the reports were serious and not exaggerating, then I’m afraid so”.

Arthur felt his stomach drop, it had been years since Ninjago had experienced a serious threat, and while he was confident in his father and his friends' skills with these situations, a thought nagged at the back of his mind that maybe they couldn’t do it. “Do Mom and Imelda know?” Arthur asked, the distress in his voice very evident.

Lloyd hesitated at first, giving Arthur his answer. “As far as they know, we’re going on a political retreat as the protectors of Ninjago, I don’t want to worry them. I’m trusting you to look after your mom and sister just so you know what to do if-........if something happens to me. If something happens to me Arthur,you-" he cut himself off and stared at Arthur, trying to find the words so he doesn't make his son pass out. After a minute of thinking, Lloyd let out a deep and put his hand on his son's shoulders" 

"Arthur if something happens to me,you must become the green ninja”.

\---

  
Arthur didn’t sleep that night. The evening consisted of him tossing and turning, his thoughts overwhelming his mind. A new threat? It didn’t seem real, but the mere concept of Arthur losing his father, forcing him to step up more and be there for his family terrified him. However, the concept of Arthur becoming the next green ninja scared him even more.


	2. Foreboding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So I've decided that I'm gonna keep writing this and I've taken some time to really flesh out a story that I feel like is interesting. Just a heads up this chapter is a little long, I have a tendency to write a lot lol. Thank you so much for the support and please see the notes at the bottom after reading, now lets get into Chapter 2!

The sun began to rise on another beautiful day in Ninjago, but Arthur didn’t spend his morning watching the sunrise, instead he watched the group of adults in front of the gate. The original ninja, each suited up in gi’s with bags packed with supplies for their “political retreat”. Shades of silver, blue, red, black, grey, and green flooded his head, unsure of the safety of these adults. It was true that these 6 were powerful elementalists and warriors who have faced the likenesses of Lord Garmadon, the Overlord, and the Oni, so there was truly no challenge they’ve faced where they didn’t win, but fear and doubt still pulled at the back of his mind. He began thinking about every worst case scenario; _What if they can’t stop this threat? What if one of the ninja gets badly hurt, or worse? What if Father gets badly hurt or, or what if he dies? What if I have to become the new green ninja?_

  
The boy was so caught up in his dreadful thinking that he nearly had a heart palpitation when he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Take a deep breath little one, your scales are showing” the voice whispered sweetly into his ear, it was his mother; Akita.

Arthur looked at his mom before looking down at the limb that was clinging to the railing of his balcony, it wasn’t really a hand anymore. His fingers had elongated and his fingernails pointed and grew into long gold claws, and his forearm was a luminescent white with shades of a deep emerald green. Arthur flinched at the sight, he usually didn’t shift unless he was in deep distress, he quickly assumed his reckless and extreme thinking was the root of the shift in his arm. Arthur took a deep breath, and within a couple minutes his arm once again resembled that of a human.

Akita didn’t remove her hand from her son's shoulder until she could see that he had shifted back to normal. His shifting abilities didn’t phase her or Lloyd, considering her ability to shift into a wolf and Lloyd’s “unique” background. Both Imelda and Arthur are shifters like her, and both are adorned with markings on their foreheads as a reminder to everyone of not only their power, but their legacy as descendants of the green ninja .

“Is something bothering you little one? I haven’t seen your lovely claws in years” Akita asked, her tone calm and soothing like honey.

Arthur looked at his mom before looking back at the adults doing a final supplies check at the gate, giving Akita the answer without a single word needing to be said. “Ah yes the ‘political retreat’. So, your father told you?”

Arthur returned his gaze to his mother in confusion, last night his father said that her and Imelda didn’t know what’s really going on. “But father said-”

“Your father isn’t the best at lying, it’s not in his blood” Akita giggled. “The only people who don't know the truth are Imelda, and the other kids”. Akita returned her hand to her son's shoulder and continued speaking, “I know this all seems scary, and your father didn’t intend for you to get so worked up about this, he only told you the truth to prepare you for the worst. Luckily, our future is in the hands of 6 very capable warriors who won’t rest until Ninjago, and the people they love, are safe. So take a deep breath little one, nothing bad is going to happen, I promise”.

Arthur sighed before giving his mom a smile and placing his hand on top of the one on his shoulder, “I know”.

Arthur trusted his mother, but he didn’t believe her, his gut and his brain we’re telling him that his mother's words were lies. The two embraced in a tight squeeze, and after a couple seconds the two found Imelda and made their way to the gate to give one last goodbye to Lloyd. Arthur hoped that this “one last goodbye” wasn’t truly the last goodbye.

\---  
Arthur barely made it through his morning classes, the whole day felt like it was moving in slow motion. Not to mention his ears rejected anything his teachers taught, so not only did his morning feel painfully slow, but he couldn’t even say that he learned stuff because he couldn’t remember a single lesson taught to him.

  
But Arthur chose not to dwell on his lost morning hours but rather chose to loathe seeing his friends during lunch, his friends who all knew nothing of what was really going on. Arthur opened his locker and proceeded to chuck his books into it and grabbed his lunch. As he closed the door he was surprised to see a familiar face behind it, Brooklyn. The girl leaned against the locker next to his, pushing her spiky deep crimson bangs out of her face. Arthur noticed that her short spiky ponytail was frizzier than usual, and the braid that connected to it was very sloppy, which meant she either just got done with gym class, or she got no sleep last night.

“You ok Arthur?” Brooklyn asked, Arthur panicked inside because she didn’t sound sarcastic, she sounded genuinely concerned.

“Um yeah, why? Whats up?” Arthur asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as hard as humanly possible, thankfully Brooklyn didn’t see through the facade and the two made their way to the cafeteria.

“I don’t know, I went to copy your notes in Latin and you hadn’t written anything, which is very unlike you dude. Is it because of the political retreat?” The term made Arthur stop dead in his tracks, he gripped his wrist to hide the scales he felt growing in.

“Psssshhhhh, no.” Arthur said panicked, “ It’s a political mission, and politics are dumb. Nothing bad can happen, the worst that can happen is they meet a super conservative politician who’s against nindroids or doesn’t like the idea of a girl being a ninja”.

Brooklyn simply shrugged, “yeah” she started, “yeah I guess you’re right”.

The two finally made it to the cafeteria and quickly made their way to the table with their other 4 friends. Zelda and Marius were in a heated debate over what Arthur could assume was a fencing technique, Seymour was reading a book, purposefully choosing to ignore everyone, and then there was Sadie.

Arthur sensed something was up, usually she’d be the first to greet them with a great big smile and ask them about their morning, but Sadie was quiet today. After getting settled down Arthur turned to Sadie in hopes to strike conversation, “So Sadie, how was your morning”?

She didn’t respond, Arthur looked nervously at Brooklyn, hoping that since Brooklyn and Sadie were the closest she would know what was going on. “Hello? Earth to Sadie?” Brooklyn joked, waving her hand in front of her friend's face.

Sadie quickly snapped out of her trance and faced the two teens who tried to talk to her. “What? Oh I'm so sorry, I guessed I just zoned out” the girl chuckled.

Brooklyn gave Sadie a suggestive look, “were you zoning out, or were you daydreaming about a certain you know who?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Sadie’s dark cheeks flushed with color, “BROOKLYN” the girl exclaimed, giving her friend a nudge, “not right here!” The two started laughing, leaving Arthur super confused but happy to see that Brooklyn was able to help her friend get into a better mood.

“I was not daydreaming Brooklyn, I legit just zoned out, sorry for not answering you Arthur, I had a fine morning, how about you?”

Arthur didn’t know what to say, since saying " _Oh you know, just a bit stressed out because our parents aren't on a political retreat but instead facing a serious threat to Ninjago that could end with them_ dead" was not an option, so he opted for a “It was good”, making him feel bad. Usually he gives Sadie more information about the day, but he genuinely couldn’t remember anything that happened, he hoped she wasn’t too disappointed with his answer.

  
Somehow time chose to move incredibly quickly during lunch, because before Sadie could respond, the bell rang to alert the students that it’s time for the second half of classes. Seymour was the first to leave, followed by Zelda and Marius who were still arguing, leaving the trio. Sadie collected her stuff and said, “C’mon Brooklyn, we can’t be late for gym.” which led to Brooklyn letting out a loud and exaggerated groan, letting Arthur know that she was a mess because she got no sleep.

“We should get going, I’ll see you in history Arthur”, Sadie said, grabbing her friends wrists and following the large herd of teens migrating their way to the first class of the afternoon. Arthur was once again left alone with his thoughts as he made his way to botany 101, hoping he would have better luck paying attention in class.

\---

The last class. Arthur let out a breath as he made his way into history, feeling a lot more relaxed knowing that he just had to get through 50 minutes of events he probably knew all about, and since he didn’t have cross country, he could then just go home and relax, maybe do some meditation to destress, maybe...just maybe that would help with the nasty thoughts going through his head. Arthur took his seat, and proceeded to roll his eyes in his head when he realized that next to him was one of those stupid tennis girls who wouldn’t leave him alone.

Thankfully, before a single word could leave his mouth, Professor Odus entered the room and immediately began roll call, and with no hesitation started the lesson. Today he was teaching about the Serpentine, which made Arthur feel more relaxed, seeing as his childhood was full of stories from his father about the serpentine, and if him and his sister misbehaved the Great Devourer would come and snatch them in their sleep, which totally didn’t lead to Arthur pranking his sister so badly that she would pee the bed from night terrors for almost two months.

  
Arthur sat through the lesson before looking up at the clock in amazement to see there was only 10 minutes left of class. “Now before class ends, I think I have just enough time to hand out and explain this project.” Odus said, handing packets to each student in the classroom, causing a loud and in sync sigh of defeat to be released into the room. The Professor laughed before continuing, “Now come on guys, it’s not that bad. You’re not doing this project on your own, I have put each of you into groups of three, you’ll find your groups in the packet. Your job is to write a report on one group of serpentine and explain their background and their importance to Ninjago History. The project is due next Friday, and I expect quality work from each group.”

Arthur looked in the packet to see his group, and was thrilled to see he was paired with Sadie and Seymour. As soon as he put the packet into his binder the bell rang, filling Arthur with excitement he didn’t know he was capable of having about a school bell.

Arthur made his way out of the classroom, and was accompanied by Sadie and Seymour to make a game plan. “I don’t have a track this weekend, so would Saturday work for you guys? I want to knock out most of the work so we don’t have a lot to do during the week.” Sadie recommended.

Arthur shook his head in agreement, “that works with me, we can use the library in the monastery, if anything is going to have the most info on the serpentine, it’s definitely going to be my father and Great Uncle’s scrolls”.

The two chuckled as Seymour rolled his eyes, “If that’s the schedule that suits both of you, then I shall make due with it. I must be leaving, I have to make sure my sister remembers her saber before I head to the debate club meeting.” Seymour said, before he picked up the pace and was gone from sight within minutes.

“It’s a marvel to me how he and Zelda have the same programming” Sadie jokes, managing to get a laugh out of Arthur. Even though Zelda and Seymour are twins and were built by the exact same people, the two droids were polar opposites. Arthur barely ever talked to Seymour because Seymour made no effort to really connect with any of the others. He was always cold, distant, and had a tendency to be super grouchy, truly making him Zelda’s opposite. While Zelda managed to be more compassionate and empathetic, Seymour was more logical and analytical. While Zelda managed to be more human, Seymour managed to be more robotic.

  
Arthur and Sadie went to his locker and while they both were talking, Sadie seemed to be keeping things bottled up, almost like she wanted to say something but couldn’t. As he finished packing up, he heard Sadie blurt out, “Arthur can I talk to you about something”?

He somewhat closed his locker and looked down at his friend, she looked anxious, her fidgeting and was noticeable, but her big, soft green eyes made direct contact with his vibrant green ones, which made him start to feel nervous. “Of course, whats up Sadie”? Arthur tried not to sound nervous, but she looked like she was about to tell him that the world was going to end, or that she was pregnant or something.

Sadie took a deep breath before finally finding the nerve to say it, “What do you think this threat is”?

  
Arthur could feel his eyes grow and his jaw drop. How on earth did she know about the threat? Arthur looked around before putting on the act he had used with Brooklyn, “What threat”?

Sadie raised an eyebrow, letting Arthur know that she wasn’t having any of this crap. “You know, the threat that the ninja are going to deal with, the ‘political retreat’”.

Once again Arthur could feel his eyes get big, he took a step towards Sadie and whispered, “How do you know about that, I thought everyone was told that it was politics”.

Sadie broke eye contact and stared at the floor before responding, “I’ve known for a while, they had a meeting at my house, it was late so they must have assumed I was asleep, but I heard the whole thing. It sounded serious, and earlier I was just trying to think about what it could be, and when I noticed you acting weird I assumed your father told you the truth”.

Arthur sighed, “He told me last night on after I got back from dinner”, he took a moment before he told Sadie what else he found out, “My father also informed me that if something happens to him, that-”

“That you’re the next green ninja” Sadie said, cutting him off. “I kind of assumed since you inherited his powers, I’m so sorry” she said.

  
Sadie tucked one of her ebony waves behind her ear, “I know how scary this feels, and I know that you must feel like you have no one else to talk to about it, you want to keep everyone from worrying”, Sadie took a step closer to Arthur and grabbed his wrist before continuing to speak, “I just want you to know that if you need to talk about anything, at any time, you can talk to me. I promise I’ll be there to listen, and I’ve got your back no matter what”. She gave a gentle smile to the boy, his cheeks lightly turned pink as he returned her smile one of his own, he then proceeded to pull her into a hug, which she gladly accepted.

“Thank you Sadie”, Arthur whispered, “This really means a lot”.

Sadie chuckled and patted his back, “Of course, that's what friends are for”.

The two released from the hug, and Sadie had a mini meltdown when she saw the clock on her phone. “Holy First Spinjitzu Master!” she exclaimed, “I’m super late for track, ugh coach is gonna kill me”. She looked up at Arthur who was smiling, “I have to go, if you want to talk later you have my number”. She patted his back before she started running to the girls locker room.

“Bye Sadie, have fun pole vaulting!” Arthur said, waving his friend goodbye. She took one last second to turn back, smile and wave before starting to sprint. Sadie wasn’t the skinniest girl, she inherited some bulk from her dad, and her short stature made her muscle more obvious, but Arthur always found it incredible that she started pole vaulting to spite a bully who said that she’s “too heavy to do anything”. Arthur finished packing up before looking at his own phone watch and realized his bus to the mountain leaves in 20 minutes. Soon enough he found himself sprinting out of the school and through the streets of Ninjago to meet up with Imelda and catch the bus home.

\---

That evening Arthur felt much more relaxed compared to yesterday. After school he had meditated and stretched out, he then got to enjoy a delicious dinner with his mom and sister, and a couple minutes ago he had finished a call with Sadie talking about stuff and his feelings in general.

It felt incredible to be able to talk to someone about everything, Sadie truly was a great buddy and ‘therapist’. She always knew exactly what to say, she truly was the most incredible friend he could have asked for. He kept thinking about earlier at his locker, how she saw right through his lies, and how she was so patient and considerate about his feelings. Arthur felt the similar heat on his cheeks he did earlier, he felt like the luckiest guy in the world to have such an amazing friend like her.

  
As Arthur finished getting ready for bed, he heard a knock on the wall outside, “Come in” he called, as he put on a t- shirt and sweats; his usual bedtime attire. Arthur turned to see his mom open the curtains and walk in.

Even though it was super late, Akita was still in her daytime clothes; a long white and red wrap with dark red bottoms.

“Mom you should be getting to bed, it’s super late” Arthur advised, but all Akita did was chuckle.

“I appreciate the concern, but as your mother I should be scolding you for still being awake” she joked. Arthur chuckled as Akita took a seat on the edge of his bed. “I just came in to check on you before I lock up the monastery and turn in myself” she started, “How are you feeling little one? I can only assume you’re feeling better since I see no scales and hear no pacing”.

Arthur smiled in embarrassment and turned away as Akita let out a soft giggle. “I’m feeling better,” Arthur replied, seeing his mother's shoulders drop in relief. Akita gave Arthur one last smile before standing up, she made her way to where her son was sitting and kissed the red dot and green swirls that adorned the center of his forehead.

“Good,” she said, “Now go to sleep, if you're still awake when I return from locking up then there will be consequences.”

Arthur laughed, and as he watched his mom make her way out of his room he said, “Thank you mom, I love you”.

Akita turned to get a good look at her son, “I love you too little one” she replied, and with that she was gone.

Arthur soon after turned off the lights and snuggled into bed, welcoming slumber as he soon drifted into sleep.

\---

_The world around Arthur was burning, his beloved city turned to ash. Arthur ran through the rubble looking for any sign of life, but found nothing. He couldn’t yell, he could breathe, his heart felt like it was going to explode. Soon enough the silence was cut off by cackling as a shadow stood atop a pile of rubble, and Arthur suddenly found himself surrounded by corpses. Arthur felt his color vanish as he realized that the bodies that surround him were the bodies of the ninja, of his friends, and his family. Arthur ran to his father as he scooped his limp body off the ground, Arthur tried to wake him up, but it was hopeless. The shadow was still cackling and Arthur felt a sharp pain as he watched the figure rise it’s claw into the air. He realized that he started to shift into a dragon, but this was different, Arthur had no control over his body. He felt the tears roll down his eyes as his body painfully contorted into the body of a dragon. He felt hopeless, he felt powerless, Arthur felt like a failure. As he stood there fully transformed and horrified with his form he looked up to see the shadow was right in front of his face. It took a break from cackling before whispering in a voice of pure terror and malice,_

_“Guess you’re not so powerful and mighty after all? Isn’t that right_ _green ninja”?_

** ISN’T IT! **

\---

Arthur jolted up out of bed in a cold sweat. He looked down at his arms and legs saw some scales, but they were beginning to disappear as his heartbeat began to slow down. He wiped the tears that were falling from his eyes, and looked outside; it was still dark. Arthur grabbed his phone to get a good look at the time, 2:43 a.m. Arthur groaned quietly, coming to the conclusion that there would be no sleeping tonight. What was that nightmare? Was it a vision of the future? Was that shadow the threat that the ninja are travelling to deal with? Do I really become the next green ninja?

“So much for a good night sleep” Arthur muttered in annoyance. He crawled out of bed, grabbed a sweatshirt, and shuffled to the balcony to watch the moon. Whatever that nightmare was, it felt too real to be just a nightmare, and if it was a vision like his gut was telling him, then not only were the ninja in trouble, but so was all of Ninjago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again for reading! Like I said before this chapter was pretty long, but I'm glad that you made it through lol. I've decided that I will be updating this story with a new chapter as often as possible (I did plan on posting this on Friday but I found out I was super ahead of schedule so I was able to get this done early). I hope I'm to get you into the story and I promise it's getting good. See you next week for Chapter 3! <3


	3. Study Sesh

The next two days for Arthur were nothing short of painful. Every time he closed his eyes, even if it was just for a split second, he saw the graphic visions from his nightmare, which meant that sleeping soon became a thing of the past. Without sleep, Arthur quickly realized that school quickly became nearly impossible. Voices and faces became very blurry, the only voice he could hear clearly was his own subconscious. His balance was nonexistent, he was constantly tripping over the very air he breathed, and all his speed had been squeezed from his muscles, which led to Coach Netvor suspending him from cross country until he was able to walk instead of trudge. 

This sleep deprived state became a massive problem, one that his friends quickly picked up on. Most of them tried the best they could to help, Brooklyn offering coffee, Marius recommending an ice bath to wake up his muscles, Zelda and Seymour,mostly Zelda, offered him meditations that would help him relax before bed, and Sadie gave him essential oils and melatonin. Arthur appreciated the offers, and tried most of them, but to no avail. He began to wonder if there was a reason that all he saw when he closed his eyes was Ninjago in ruins and his loved ones gravely hurt. Was it potentially a warning for the future? Is it a form of communication that it’s time to prepare? Arthur soon felt a migraine from his habit of overthinking. Arthur looked at his phone for the time, 9:48 p.m, he groaned and plopped onto his bed, scratched his scalp and let out a loud yawn, he hated these visions and hated the hot mess he slowly became because of them. Arthur then grabbed his phone and texted Sadie to see if she was able to talk, hoping that she could ease his mind just a bit. 

“Wow, that’s horrifying” Sadie started, “How long has this been going on now”? Arthur looked away from the screen coy and muttered, “Almost three days”. He watched Sadie’s face twist into a concerned expression as she took a deep breath and wrapped some of her dark curls back into the messy bun. “So you haven’t been sleeping for nearly three days because every time you close your eyes you see Ninjago completely destroyed and all your loved ones dead bodies scattered across the rubble, and you’re scared that this nightmare might be a ‘vision’ of the future”? 

Arthur nodded, but even without the head shake the silence was enough to answer the girl’s question. Sadie let out a sigh and rubbed her temples. “Well no wonder you’re such a mess. If I was in your position I wouldn’t want to sleep either, but trying to avoid this isn’t healthy Arthur. I mean, just look at how badly it’s affecting you after just three days.” There was silence between the two before Sadie once again started to speak. 

“ It’s getting pretty late, I should be getting to bed and I think you should too. I gave you some melatonin, that should help you get to sleep”. Arthur took a look at his phone clock and realized they had been talking for almost three hours. 

“Could we maybe do this again tomorrow”? Arthur asked. Talking to Sadie was more than just getting moral support or advice, she was the only person he felt like he could do or say anything to, she was his rock, no pun intended. “Yeah I don’t see why not, maybe while we’re working tomorrow we can sneak in a conversation”. 

Arthur’s head tilted in confusion, which Sadie noticed and proceeded to explain, “Seymour and I are coming to the monastery tomorrow to work on the history project, noon is still a good time to head over right”? Arthur could feel his eyes get wide from the shock, how could he forget about the history project?! “Uh, um yeah noon is great”! Sadie looks suspicious but considering it was almost 1 am she simply shrugged it off. “Cool now go to bed Arthur! I promise you sleep will help with everything, good night”. And with a good night from Arthur Sadie was gone, leaving the sixteen year old with nothing but his own thoughts once more. 

Arthur walked up to his dresser and picked up the bottle of melatonin gummies Sadie gifted him. He inspected the plastic bottle as if it was the rebuilt realm crystal. Arthur let out a sigh and swung his head low, whether he liked it or not, he was going to need to sleep so he’s not completely useless tomorrow. He took three of the gummies and swallowed them whole as he plopped onto the bed, slowly starting to close his eyes, and found relief when all he saw was darkness; no corpses, no fire, and no shadows. 

\---

Arthur felt groggy as the morning sun shone bright in his face and the sound of his phone ringing woke him from his deep sleep. He picked up the phone and answered with a tired and forced, “Hello”? 

“Hey Arthur! Did you sleep last night”?, it was Sadie, her voice was kind and refreshing like a nice cup of tea. 

He took a moment to relish in the subtle smile she put on his face before he responded with a playful, “Yep, you were right, not surprising”. He heard a giggle on the other end of the call as he felt his smile grow slightly wider. Arthur stretched his right arm and both his legs before crawling out of bed and headed towards the balcony to continue the conversation. “So what’s up? To what do I owe the privilege of this lovely call from a miss Sadie Brookstone”?

He heard another giggle from her before she responded, “Well if you must ask, I’m calling to let you know that Seymour and I just got on the shuttle bus, which means that hopefully we should be at the monastery in half an hour, but I’ll keep you updated”. 

Arthur slowly felt his smile fall from his face as he remembered for the second time that Sadie and Seymour were coming over to work on the project. “C-cool! Awesome! Fun! I’ll see you guys then, bye”! Before Sadie could respond Arthur hung up and ran back into his room to get dressed. After throwing on a sweatshirt and jeans, speed brushed his teeth and his messy wavy light brown hair, he scrambled to the library section of the monastery to clean it up a bit. 

\---

Once Seymour and Sadie got to the monastery, the trio made their way to the library to get to work. Seymour started very unimpressed with the array of books and scrolls that filled the shelves of the library, but after picking up a couple and reading some of the ancient information they held, his snootiness soon turned into a deep respect. Sadie meanwhile grabbed books and scrolls that were actually useful to the project, deciding to pull out a notebook and a pencil case to note what she saw. 

The first hour was very silent and studious, as each one of the teens were trying to concentrate on finishing. While the silence at first was peaceful, it slowly turned into an uncomfortable tension that pressed against the trio as each person in the room struggled to make even the slightest conversation. Arthur was deep into his reading about the venomari when a serene and sweet voice broke the silence by whispering “how are you feeling?”

Arthur looked across from the table to see that Sadie was no longer working and staring at him. He meets her gaze with a confused expression, before remembering the conversation he had with her the night before. “Oh, um I feel fine I guess. I said it earlier, but sleep really was a good idea, and to reiterate my statement from earlier, you were right, as always”. 

A small giggle left Sadie’s lips as a response to Arthur’s statement. Arthur began to feel the smile from earlier, slowly creeping onto his face, but chose to let it happen rather than try to get rid of it. There was something about Sadie’s giggle that always did that, it always made him happy, it was light and genuine, nothing about it seemed forced or fake. It only came when she was truly happy, and Arthur found it almost………. cute. 

It was a nice moment between good friends,but was quickly shut off when a metallic sounding gag was heard from the other side of the library. Arthur and Sadie faced the sound in confusion, since Seymour had never been the type to react to things that aren’t based on something he’s reading. The two teens at the table gave each other a confusing look before making their way to the nindroid. “What’s the matter Seymour”? Sadie started, “something gross in that book you’re reading”? 

Surprisingly, Seymour put a bookmark in the book and put it down before talking to them. “Actually no, it’s what’s going on outside of the book that’s grossing me out. What is that term Brooklyn would use right now?” Seymour took a couple seconds for effect before speaking again. “Oh yeah, **get a room you two** ”. 

Sadie and Arthur stared wide eyed at the nindroid, with crimson heat spreading across their cheeks. The next couple minutes consisted of the two stuttering and mumbling about how there’s no chemistry and they’re just friends, an event that could make any person, nindroid or serpentine burst into a deep, hysterical laughter. However, Seymour kept a straight face during their blabbering of “excuses”, simply choosing to give the pair a tiny chuckle and a smirk as he proceeded to return to the reading in the book. 

“You better hope that book you’re reading has to do with the venomari Seymour” Sadie said playfully as she ripped the text from the nindroid’s grasp. It was a novel the size of a diary, and was a deep copper color adorned with letters unknown to Arthur and Sadie, most likely due to them being so old and worn out. The only chicken scratch that was legible to them was the title: 

_“Ancient Beasts and the mythology of Ninjago”_

“Seymour have you been spending this whole time reading about stuff that isn’t even real? How much of the project did you actually do?” Sadie said, very annoyed. Arthur started to feel irritated as well, the whole reason they were here was to get the project done before the school week since they all have super busy schedules and wouldn’t be able to meet until the day the project is due, and that’s because they’ll be in class. 

All the nindroid did in response however was scoff and take back the book from Sadie’s delicate hold. “For your information I did my part last night when I completed the entire project, it took a total of 10 minutes and 27 seconds. But to answer your question yes, I did spend the past hour reading this, because some of the information it holds isn’t in any of my databases”. 

Sadie looked at Arthur with a look of curiosity before making her way to sit next to Seymour. “But your databases hold every single piece of information there is to know about Ninjago, Zane and P.I.X.A.L made sure you and Zelda were like living libraries.” 

Seymour didn’t look up, simply flipping back to the page he was on and gesturing for Arthur to join the two in looking in the book. “While I must say all the creatures specified in this book are extremely fascinating, I must say that these things are beyond anything that even my processors couldn’t even fathom”. 

Seymour stopped on the bookmarked page, showing a picture of a tall figure, with wisps of ink around the creature symbolizing smoke. It’s eye’s were big and white , and had long arms and long hynde legs, both ending in claws. It was a very unsettling image, and while it was enough for Sadie to grimace at it, something was off about the creature, it seemed…. familiar. The name and information about the creature must have been written in the same language as the chicken scratch around the book, because neither Arthur or Sadie recognized it. 

“Can you read what that says Seymour”? Sadie asked

“Of course, before I was rudely interrupted by your disgusting display of affection, I was translating the text into a more understandable one. It was written in the language of the First One’s, hence why you two can not understand the text.” Seymour looked at the two of them before reading them the contents of the pages. “These creatures are called Sombrei, apparently they are creatures of Shadow created by the Overlord. They filled his empire and were commonly used as soldiers in his effort to seize Ninjago. They were also known to many as violent and malicious spirits who would destroy anything in their path”. 

“That’s horrible!” Sadie said. “I’m glad we don’t have those things around anymore”. 

Seymour and Arthur nodded in agreement, and Seymour continued to read. “It also says that they were all banished to an underrealm along with the Overlord, except for one; the most dangerous and unstable sombrei. They were trapped in a tomb in the Temple of Pure Light”. 

“What does that mean; the most dangerous”? Arthur questioned. “I mean how dangerous do you have to be to not be placed in the same as the Overlord for Spinjitzu’s sake?” 

Seymour nodded in agreement, thinking about the same query himself before sneaking a peek to the next page. “Let’s find out,” Seymour replied, as if diving deeper into the book was a smart idea. 

The next page showed a figure similar to the one previously shown, except this one appeared more malicious, it adorned a wicked smile, with long ratty locks and long twisted horns. Arthur felt his stomach drop when he saw the image of the sombrei, for it was the same exact monster he’s seen in his “visions”. Sadie noticed the color leaving Arthur and asked with concern, “Arthur? Arthur what’s wrong”?

Arthur wasn’t listening to hear, he kept staring at the person and asked Seymour, “What does the book say Seymour”? 

Seymour took a minute to decode the text before taking in a small gasp. He didn’t look up, he simply looked at both of them and quietly responded, “it’s not informative like the last page, the text on here, is a warning”

“Read it, please” Arthur said, more demanding. 

Seymour let out a sigh and proceeded to read the caution to his friends. “To whoever is reading this, beware the sombrei sorcerer. They are not to be trusted, and will ruthlessly kill you like any cold blooded predator. They kill for sport, they are feared by all, even by their own creator. Trapped in a 1000 year tomb in Pure Light. Do not interfere with the tomb or it is certain Ninjago will be destroyed. Beware…..huh”. 

Arthur and Sadie looked at Seymour in confusion. Seymour looked at the two of them and proceeded to close the book, “ _Who_ are we supposed to beware exactly Seymour? What’s their name”? Arthur asked, craving the answer to the biggest mystery of his “visions”. 

“That’s the problem,” Seymour said as he stood up and started walking to the shelves. “There was no name, it was ripped out of the page”. 

Tension started to ease up a bit as Seymour returned to the pair and offered to play some funny videos since he had already completed the assignment. As much as Sadie didn’t want to and insisted they should contribute to the assignment, she also knew she wouldn’t be able to work as freaked out as she was from that stupid book. So for the next half hour, the three of them watched funny cat videos and epic fails, bonding and growing closer as friends, and things got a lot more peaceful and nice. 

However, the peaceful feeling didn’t last long when the three of them heard a loud crash, followed by a scream in the monastery.

\---

Arthur, Seymour, and Sadie ran out to discover the horrifying image of the ninja, their loved ones, beaten and bruised. Their gi’s were ripped and stained with blood, both dried and fresh. 

They all were pretty beat up, but it was obvious that Nya and Lloyd got the worst of it. Nya couldn’t even stand, instead she was being held by her husband who was too concerned with her rather than his own wounds. Lloyd wasn’t as bad as Nya, but he was using Kai as a human crutch. They all were badly injured, but Arthur noticed they all looked afraid, very afraid.

The three turned around when they heard running from inside the monastery, within seconds Akita appeared frantically from the inside. “What’s going on? I heard screaming, is everyone ok”. However, with a finger arrow from Arthur, it was very clear that not everyone is ok. The six bloody warriors that crashed through the monastery were quite the opposite of ok. 

Soon enough the source of the scream came stumbling to the four of them. Imelda’s eyes were thick with tears and short, jagged breaths. Her eyes darted in between the four of them as she struggled to make words form, “Wh-what happened? Wh-why are they hurt? M-mom?” 

Akita pulled her daughter into a tight hug and tried her hardest to calm down Imelda. Sadie took a moment to look at her dad, badly bruised and shaking, but still moving with Zane to make sure Nya was ok since it looked like she wasn’t exactly awake. She took in a deep breath, and closed her eyes and dropped her tense and anxious shoulders, trying to make a plan. 

“I’m going to call for medical help,” Sadie said, planning to run back to the library to make the call. Before she left, she moved towards Imelda and Akita, since Akita was starting to let go of her daughter. “Imelda why don’t you come and help me” she suggested, to which the twelve year old hesitantly agreed. The two girls moved quickly to the library, leaving Akita, Arthur, and Seymour to come up with a plan of their own. 

“Okay boys” Akita started, taking in a deep breath, “I’m going to grab the first aid kit so we can patch these guys up as best we can until medical professionals can aid them. Arthur and Seymour, go check on them all and make sure no one’s dead.” 

Arthur and Seymour nodded and the three divided, Akita on her way to the old med bay to receive the first aid kit, and the boys making their way to the ninja to get answers. 

Seymour mainly worked with his dad to do a scanning of Nya’s vitals’, since she wasn’t doing any better since they got back to the monastery. Akita had returned and started wrapping open wounds and checking in on everyone. She worked her way around, doing her best to patch up the wounds as best as she could before ending with her husband, her and Lloyd sitting down on the edge of the monastery deck while Arthur stood in front of the two. Usually, Arthur would have focused on his father’s injuries, which he was, but he was also starting to become hungry for answers. 

“Father, what happened?” Arthur asked, hoping, heck praying to the First Spinjitzu Master that it wasn’t who he feared it was. 

Akita looked disapproving of her son’s questioning, but she also agreed that the two of them needed answers. Lloyd took his wife’s hand as she finished wrapping his arm, which had a massive, deep gash cut into it. He looked up at his son, and bluntly said “They out powered us,and escaped, they beat us, and we…..  **we lost** ”. 

The words made Arthur’s stomach drop and his blood run cold. He was terrified that his worst nightmare, and the worst of the case scenarios he came up with, are the reality he’s living in. He could feel his breath getting sharper, and the scales appearing on his arms under his sweatshirt. He closed his eyes and stabilized his breath, before looking back down at his father, who wore a look of concern. “Who beat you?” was all Arthur could ask. 

Lloyd looked down and took a breath as he squeezed Akita's hand, which she squeezed back with unconditional love. He looked back up at Arthur, this time with a serious face, and with hesitation, he said a name, a name that made Arthur realize that his worst fears are truly about to become his reality. 

  
  


_ “Evos” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....and the plot begins lol. hi guys, I'm sorry I've been gone for so long, between the last time I posted chapter two and this chapter a lot of stuff has been going on as well a massive case of writers block. However, I'm back and super excited for where we're going in this story!! I would also like say a huge thank you for all the hits on the story!! It means the world to me that so many people wanted to read what I've written so once again a huge thank you to all you!! Stay tuned for chapter 4 (which I hope I can post soon) <3


	4. Recovery

To say that the next couple days for everyone were emotionally draining, scary, stressful, and anger filled would be the biggest understatement of all time. 

A little bit after discovering that Evos had beat the ninja to the point of death, the paramedics Sadie called arrived and took the five of them to the hospital, Zane stayed behind since he could repair himself due to him being a nindroid. They all got stitches and medications for their wounds, and only Nya was hospitalized for an infected stab wound, broken ribs and a shattered ankle. Thankfully she was going to be okay, but it wasn’t clear when she would be healed enough to be permitted to leave.

Because Nya’s release date was unknown, Jay practically lived in the hospital while she recovered, only leaving to make sure the kids were ok or sometimes to sleep in his own bed, but other than that he ate, slept, and lived in that hospital room to make sure his wife was ok. Marius was old enough to look out for him and his little sister Holly, but that didn’t stop the two of them from being upset about everything. Everyone was super supportive; Aunt Skylor, Uncle Kai, and all their cousins would come over with meals with plenty of leftovers to make sure they were eating, the Julian's put up camera systems so Jay could check in and make sure they’re safe and better internet so Marius and Holly could chat with their Dad when he wasn’t home,and when Sadie wasn’t caring for her father, she would bring cookies and games for the three of them to play to lift spirits, mainly for the sweet little eight year who hasn’t seen her parents in days. 

\---

Arthur made his way through the large building, making his way to the apartment complex that the Walker’s called home. His hands held a couple puzzles, a gift his family thought would be a good way to keep Marius and Holly busy. Arthur could feel his stomach twisting with anxiety as he made his way up the stairs, thinking about everything that was thrown at them these past four days. Since Saturday, tensions were at an all time high at home, and unfortunately news spread like wildfire about the ninja’s recent journey and injuries, thankfully word hadn’t spread about Evos or their escape from their tomb, but that didn’t stop reporters from spreading lies and silly ideas. 

Arthur finally made it to the door, and quickly rang the doorbell before losing the courage to talk to him. There was a few seconds of ringing before the door opened, and revealed a frazzled and exhausted Marius. It was a bizarre image, considering Marius is very well kept, his hair was frizzy and appeared very not brushed. He was dressed in a grey long sleeved shirt, and blue athletic shorts. There was a silence between the two before Marius cracked a tiny smile and said, “Hey dude, wanna come in before the paparazzi stampede us”. 

Arthur let out a small breath that he didn’t realize he was holding. He gave his friend a smile and made his way into the apartment. 

\---

Much to Arthur’s surprise, the home was very clean and organized, practically spotless, which probably explained why Marius looked so exhausted. Soon Arthur felt eyes staring his way and looked down to see a little girl with lopsided curly buns, her big brown and blue eyes stared at the boy in her home. Her freckles and tiny nose scrunched up tight in a confused expression. Her bizarre expression led to Arthur making a less exaggerated version of hers, trying to figure out what she was thinking. 

After a minute of what was probably the strangest staring contest known to mankind, the gaze was broken by laughter coming from behind Arthur. Marius approached Arthur and threw an arm around him, “Holly this is Arthur, you remember him? His parents are close friends with mom and dad. He used to come over all the time when you were tiny.” 

Holly's face quickly loosened up, and turned into a very excited smile. A giggled left the little girl's mouth as she ran to Arthur and jumped into Arthur’s arms, making him drop the puzzles he brought as a gift. “Arty!!! Arty!!!” Holly chirped, which put a smile on the boy's face as he held her and accepted the hug she had thrown his way. “Arty!! Arty you got so big, I thought you were a bad guy trying to sneak in, I’m sorry” Holly said, tightening her hold on Arthur. 

“I-it’s ok Holly D-dolly” Arthur stammered, gasping for air. “ _For a tiny little 8 year old, she sure has one heck of a strong grip”_ he thought to himself. After a second he put Holly back on the ground, but quickly discovered her clinging to his leg for dear life. 

“Okay Holly, give Arthur some space” Marius said pulling Holly off of Arthur's leg. Seeing that she looked like she was about to have a meltdown, Marius quickly bent down and grabbed one of the puzzles that Arthur had dropped and offered it to the eight year old, “here, Arthur brought this just for you, how about you go put it together in your room”. 

At first Holly was hesitant, making it clear that she wanted to spend time with Arthur, but she peacefully took the box from her brother's hold and whispered “ok”. Before leaving, Holly gave Arthur's leg one last squeeze and darted to her room, slamming the door closed.

Marius let out a sigh as he returned to a standing position. “Sorry about that” Marius started, “She hasn’t seen any of our friends except Brooklyn in like, forever”. He brushed his fingers through his hair and stared down at the ground for a couple seconds. Arthur didn’t say anything, mainly choosing to listen. Marius noticed his friend's silence and proceeded to bend down and grab the other puzzle. He looked at Arthur with a neutral expression, “wanna catch up?” he asked, “I feel like I haven’t talked to you in forever”. 

Arthur nodded, accepting his friend's offer, and followed Marius to the living room. 

\---

The two boys sat on the couch silently in front of a half completed puzzle of Ninjago City. The silence was painful for Arthur, he would give anything for Holly to burst out of her room and drag him in there to admire her puzzle or her stuffed animal collection. Arthur looked around the room for something,  _ anything _ , he could use to start up a conversation, maybe a new piece of furniture, or a new painting, he just needed something. After what felt like hours of searching, Arthur's eyes finally stumbled on the perfect conversation starter. 

“Is Daphne home from college”? 

Marius turned to look at Arthur and the bags and suitcase that scattered the floor across the room propped up against the island. “Yeah” Marius responded, “She got here this morning”. 

“Where is she?” Arthur asked, “Is she off with friends? Getting groceries”? 

“Nope, she's at the hospital with dad” Marius said, “She’s been there all day, I think she’s gonna try and bring dad home, try to get him to sleep since he hasn’t really been doing that”. 

The two boys went silent again, much to Arthur’s dismay. Marius usually wasn’t the silent type, he was very much a people person, and never shied away from a good conversation, so seeing his best friend since diapers being quiet and somewhat timid, really put Arthur in a concerned funk. Arthur tried to think of how he could help, saying to himself “ _ What would Sadie do?”  _ considering helping people was like her specialty. The only thing Arthur could think of was to ask about  _ her _ , but it was established by everyone early on to not even say her name. However, seeing Marius so quiet, Arthur felt like it was a rule that must be broken. 

“So….” Arthur started, “how is she”? 

The question certainly caught Marius’s attention, as he took an audible sharp breath in. “She, she’s doing fine”, he said, shaky, “she’s stable, and the doctor said she was going to be okay, but…. It's not **her** I’m worried about”. 

Arthur didn’t know what to say to that. He continued his thought process about what Sadie would do in this situation. Arthur sat up and put a hand on Marius’s shoulder, putting on a calm and collected expression. “I know you may not want to, because it’s super hard, but trust me when I say talking about what’s going on  **_will_ ** help”. 

Marius looked at Arthur before taking a deep breath and relaxing his tense shoulders as Arthur removed his hand. “I’m not worried about my mom, she’s like super strong, she’s always been, it’s everyone else that’s making me worried. I’m worried about the effect the mission is having on everyone. Dad’s a mess, Uncle Kai is angry, and the other three have been distant. Everyone is basically in shambles, the same goes to our friends. I haven’t seen the twins at all, Sadie is trying her hardest, but I can tell she’s incredibly stressed about her dad, and Brooklyn, well she’s probably the worst of all”. 

Arthur knew Brooklyn wasn’t too okay, he tried messaging her but she ignored him, leaving him on read and refusing to take his calls, but hearing the shakiness in his voice bringing up her name, it was unsettling, even somewhat scary. “How bad is Brooklyn?” Arthur asked, voice shaky with concern. 

“She’s extremely upset about being “lied to” since Uncle Kai didn’t tell her about the real reason they were going on that mission. She’s angry, confused, scared, but she doesn’t show it, Jasper says that her elemental powers are unstable, which is probably due to her emotions. He said Aunt Skylor has her wearing those old vengestone cuffs from when we were kids because she lost control and nearly burned the house down. Brooklyn can be very temperamental but she’s never lost control before, even when we were kids.” 

Marius let out a sigh and slumped into the couch, “ I’m not upset personally, I can understand them wanting to protect us and stuff, but I’m scared that things aren’t going to be the same anymore, for any of us. I’m scared that this mission has created this wall between everyone”. 

Arthur took a deep breath and proceeded to slump into the couch, similar to his friend right of him. “I get it” Arthur started, “this whole situation is super scary, and the decision to keep it secret had some negative effects, but everything is going to be fine. It’s ok to be scared, and worried, I know I am. My father told me the truth, and told my Mom and Mel that it was the ‘political retreat’. Mom figured out the real situation quickly, but Mel didn’t learn the truth until his return, and was even more mad when she learned that everyone knew but her. We’re all stressed out, and Nya in the hospital definitely isn’t helping, but like her recovery, it’s going to take time for things to settle back, but things  **will** go back to normal, I promise”. 

There was a moment of silence between the two before Marius let out a small laugh, “Since when did you get all knowing and wise like Master Wu?”

That joke wasn’t his best, but it was a great start to things getting better. Arthur chuckled, replied, “Well I’ve been in the same place you are, but I had Sadie to talk to about everything, she’s really good at listening and understanding, so she’s the wise one, I was just doing what I thought she would do”. 

“Yeah, she really is the best isn't she”, Marius said. Arthur noticed a blush and small smile creep onto Marius’s face, which he must have noticed too as he quickly blurted out, “I mean you know she’s a great friend to have and stuff, she’s um super cool, cool like ice, but not like Zelda’s Ice, ha ha”. 

Arthur showed his friend a sneaky grin, making the boy even more flustered than before. The situation led to laughter between life long friends, and the tense and heavy atmosphere quickly dissipated into a warm and relaxing one, as if all the problems going on and stress quickly melted away, and it was just like when they were little. It was a nice feeling, a feeling they hoped lasted forever. 

“Well then,” Marius started as he sat up, “ now that therapy is over, how about we finish this puzzle, I’m not a quitter, and like it or not buddy, you’re not leaving until this bad boy is complete”. 

Arthur looked at the coffee table in front of the couch, the puzzle they started earlier was less than sliver completed, and looking at the large pile of pieces that sat in the box, Arthur could tell this was going to take a while. He let out a laugh, and exaggerated the cracking of his knuckles, as if he was getting ready to fight, “Let’s do this”. 

\---

After a couple hours of snacks, jokes, and puzzle building, as well as nearly thirty minutes of goodbye hugs from Holly, Arthur stood in the hall outside of the apartment in his jacket, as well as a container of some of the food that Skylor had been bringing for Marius and Holly. Marius stood in the frame of the door, the two having one last conversation. 

“Thanks for stopping by dude, it was great getting to catch up, with school and sports going on, I can’t remember the last time we’ve genuinely just spent time together” Marius said jokingly. 

“Definitely since before high school” Arthur jokes, “But, yeah, it was really good getting to see you and Holly again, we should do this again, except you know when everyone isn’t at each other's throats and nobody’s in the hospital”. An awkward smile crept on Arthur’s face at the realization of the stupid comment he made. 

Surprisingly, Marius laughed, “Yeah, for sure dude”. He ran his fingers through his frizzy, wavy hair before continuing, “Also, thank you for the talk earlier, you were right, it actually made me feel a lot better”.

Arthur smiled, “Of course dude, anytime”. 

“Welp” Marius started, “I should let you get going, don’t want to be the reason you miss the shuttle home”. 

Before Arthur could respond, a loud high pitched “WAIT!!” Boomed from inside of the house, the Arthur laughed at Marius’s eye roll as Holly came running to the door, and pushed her older brother to make way in the door frame for her. “ Arty before you go, I wanted to give you this” she said as she raised a green dragon plushie to the boy. 

Arthur smiled and accepted the gift with a warm, “thank you Holly Dolly” as a response. The little girl gave him a large and genuine smile, and quickly ran back into the home, once again leaving the two boys alone. 

“You’re very lucky” Marius started, “Holly doesn’t share her stuffed animals, and she must really like you to let you have one”. 

Arthur let out a laugh, putting the dragon plush in the inside pocket of his coat. The two said their final goodbyes, and Arthur left the apartment complex to make his way to the shuttle stop. He passed the Ninjago Museum of Natural History, Borg Industries, and the Chen’s Noodle Restaurant, which was closed. As he stood in the line to get on the shuttle, Arthur looked around at the bright neon lights that sparkled the town, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh, "Everything's going to be okay" he muttered to himself. 

\---

As Arthur got onto the shuttle, he sat down and relaxed, taking out the stuffed animal from his jacket. It was a light pastel green with yellow spikes and big wings, it wasn’t too big, but it was very soft, like the outside was made of a fuzzy blanket. Arthur admired the present and gave it a gentle squeeze as he put it on his lap.

A couple minutes into the ride Arthur noticed something peculiar about the passengers on the trip home. It was pretty late, so usually not a lot of people would be on the bus heading to the mountain, but there was a good amount of people, almost half the bus was full. Everyone was either wearing nice clothes, or dressed in all black, but they all shared one thing in common; they all had cameras, notepads, and they were all whispering to each other. Arthur never had to deal with it, and was confused as to why they were taking the bus, but he knew news reporters and paparazzi when he saw it. He assumed they hadn’t seen him yet or weren’t paying attention, so to make sure he didn’t spend the rest of the ride being bombarded by cameras, he put the hood of his jacket on and slumped down, hoping he stays unseen. As the shuttle made it to it’s stop he thankfully was the only one that got off, but unlucky for him he could hear the camera’s clicking and voices getting louder in the bus as it drove away. 

Arthur let out a sigh as he made his way up the mountain to the monastery. He knew that news of the ninja’s recent outing and Nya being hospitalized was bound to mark the flooding of news reporters and paparazzi, but he also knew that no one knew about Evos’s escape, and that nobody can know to keep the public calm. However, the news never sleeps in Ninjago, and they weren’t going to stop until they figured out what really happened at that visit. 

Arthur quickly realized that if that bus ride was any indication of what was to come, then the Garmadon's, Smith’s, Walker’s, Julian’s, and Brookstone’s were going to be in deep trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the time of posting this, this story has almost 200 hits, which actually blows my mind. Thank you to everyone who reads this story and leaves kudos and comments, it truly means the world to me to see people reading this, and the story is just getting started!!! Thank you once again to everyone for reading this story, and stay tuned for chapter 5!! <3


	5. Publicity

The next couple of weeks slowly transitioned from a high speed, super loopy rollercoaster of events to a steady, but slightly bumpy road. About a week after Arthur’s visit to the Walker household, Nya was released from the hospital, allowing her to finish her recovery at home. Her return also allowed Jay and Nya to be able to spend quality time with all three of their children in their home for the first time in a couple years. 

Following Nya’s return home, the ninja began night patrols, making sure no suspicious activity was happening that could be related to Evos. Night patrolling was also a way to keep the people of Ninjago under control, and hopefully keeping the city from going into panic mode.

However, their stealthy night patrols weren’t enough to stop word from spreading throughout the city about the ninja being in the hospital. People became paranoid, and due to the lack of information given to the public, crazy rumors began to be blurted out and spread like wildfire throughout the city. For some people, hearing crazy stories like “the great devourer has returned” or “it’s the sons of garmadon, we’re doomed!!” we’re enough to satisfy them, but others wanted the truth, and thought they were going to get it straight from the source. 

Arthur’s shuttle ride home was unfortunately just the beginning. As days passed, the news got more desperate, even more stir crazy for a scoop. The press and the news made Arthur feel like a deer during hunting season, constantly being followed in an attempt to bamboozle him with questions. What makes everything worse is that they all have everyone’s addresses memorized, their schedules, and their school routes memorized to a T, so finding any peace and quiet was basically non existent. 

Thankfully, Ninjago City High School banned any news coverage or press into the school in order to protect the students, and any breach in this rule would result in a civil lawsuit. The school wanted to make sure the children felt safe, which made going to school for Arthur, Sadie, Brooklyn, Marius, Zelda and Seymour feel like a huge weight released from their shoulders. The school was free from the news and the press, but one thing the school couldn’t stop was the students, and their ruthless judgement.  
\---- 

After what everyone refers to as “the incident”, Arthur can feel the divide between his closest friends. They all stayed in contact, sat with each other at lunch, and we’re talking, but Arthur could feel it, they all could feel it, the massive divide, turning their close family into a table full of strangers. This feeling was especially clear with Brooklyn, who refused to be anywhere near her friends. During lunch she didn’t sit with them, opting to sit with her volleyball teammates, who welcomed her to the table with open arms. Arthur knew that Brooklyn had other friends, and she was allowed to be friends with other people, seeing her smiling with other people, it put his stomach in a knot, and hurt him in a way he didn’t know was possible. 

“Hey” a voice said to Arthur as he felt a firm hand on his shoulder, “she’ll come around, she’s still just upset about the whole incident, that’s all”. 

Arthur turned to face Marius, who gave him a small smirk in an attempt to calm him down. Arthur let out a sigh like he was holding his breath, something he found himself doing a lot of the time, and sunk into his chair at the lunch table. “How has she been”? Arthur asked Marius, since last time they talked Marius was the only person she would talk to. 

“Well……” Marius started, giving off the impression that things were definitely not ok. “She’s no longer talking to me, she’s ignoring my calls and my texts. Jasper says she’s just frustrated with herself and other ‘girl things’, which makes sense considering she’s still wearing her vengestone cuffs”. 

Arthur groaned, causing concern for the other 4 people who were sitting with him. Zelda looked over to Sadie and was going to nudge her to calm Arthur down, but the expression on Sadie’s face told her that she was already working on it. “Arthur calm down, she’s just really stressed out” she started, taking a couple seconds to look at the other people sitting with them, “We all are a little freaked out about everything, we all just have different methods of coping, so please just give her time Arthur, like Marius said I’m sure she’ll come around”. 

Before Arthur could respond the bell rang, and everyone collected their things and left, leaving only Sadie and Arthur at the table. He looked at her, trying to find the words, trying to explain what was wrong. Her face was so kind, her fern green eyes filled him with warmth, and her sweet smile said a thousand words. He tried to speak, but all he could do was sigh. Sadie smiled and reached out a hand, “C’mon mister, I’ll walk you to class, because at this rate you’ll be late”. Arthur gave her a smile and took her hand, helping onto his feet. He grabbed his stuff and the two made their way to class, both having so much to say, but no room to say it. Arthur knew that healing was going to take time, but he didn’t realize how much time slows down when you’re healing, because the past two or three weeks have felt more like two or three years for him.  
\----

Brooklyn knew she was acting ridiculous, she knew that treating her friends like this was wrong, but she was angry, and she had every right to be. Her family lied to her, they betrayed her trust, why couldn’t dad have just told me the truth? I’m not some child, I’m not one of the twins or Maya or Ray or Jasper, I’m dependable. 

Even with the vengestone cuffs on, she knew one wrong move could make her unleash hellfire and go on an outrage, which made it so hard to be away from her friends. She loves them and she knows none of this is their fault, but they're all as a part of this as her father. Stupid old man, she thought to herself as she made her way to her locker. Luckily it was the end of the day, and the coach gave Brooklyn some time off to recover with her family. The rest of the day would be smooth sailing if she could get out of here without the press bothering her, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen. 

Like her friends and family, Brooklyn was one of the victims of the news and press. Everywhere she went, there was always someone with a camera or a notebook begging for answers. The only difference is Brooklyn would take the questions and insulting comments to heart, and can get very aggressive when provoked, so thankfully she hasn’t hit her breaking point yet. As soon as the idea of her breaking point entered her mind, a high pitched squeal filled her ears, making Brooklyn tense. 

I swear on the First Spinjitzu Master- 

“Andy hurry up!! Andy are you rolling??”

Before Brooklyn could even blink a girl an inch or two shorter than Brooklyn stood right in front of her, along with a tall, lanky, and nervous looking kid who was shakily holding a camera. 

“Hi Brooklyn!!! How’s the fiery, hot headed captain of the volleyball team doing?? I know you’ve probably had a long day and stuff but I was wondering if I could get an interview with you for my blog??” 

Brooklyn sighed and gently shoved the girl out of her path, “Not today Caralee, I’m not in the mood”. Brooklyn took a few steps down the hall, now basically empty, however she barely got in five steps before Caralee was back in front of her, clearly not taking no for an answer. 

“Brooklyn, I need this interview! If I get this interview I can finally show my mom and the other news reporters in town that my blog is respectable, so come on and just answer a few questions for me!! Andy start rolling! So tell me Ms. Smith-” 

“Caralee” Brooklyn said, this time more aggressively, “Not today, I’m not in a good mood”. This time Brooklyn pushed a little harder and started to make her way down the hall, hands in a loose fist. Caralee looked like she was about to explode into a temper tantrum, get more and more angry by the rejection. 

“Fine” she said, gritting her teeth, “I guess I’m going to have to get the information the hard way”. And with that she ripped the camera out of Andy’s hands and ran after Brooklyn. 

“How does it feel to be such a failure Ms. Smith?”

The sentence made Brooklyn stop dead in her tracks, completely dumbfounded by the statement. Caralee smirked a little knowing from the reaction she was about to get everything she wanted. She walked closer to Brooklyn with the confidence of a dead man walking, still recording. “It’s clear to many that you had no clue about the incident with the ninja, so all I want to know is how does it feel to know you could have helped, could have been there? But you’re so much of a failure that not even your own father would tell you about something so serious?”

Brooklyn could feel her fists involuntarily getting tighter, she could feel her breaking point slowly fade, and no matter what she couldn’t stop this anger from growing. Caralee’s smirk got bigger as she watched Brooklyn get more and more angry, and she knew if she lashed out she could use this as blackmail to get that interview, all according to plan. Caralee was now a couple feet from Brooklyn and she could feel her anger radiating off the girl like heat from a stove. Without hesitation Caralee smiled and asked, “Well Brooklyn? What’s the matter, vengestone got your tongue”? 

Brooklyn whipped around, her face red and eyes full of tears, Caralee was more than prepared for the beatdown she was about to receive, but it would all be worth it for her blog. However, before Brooklyn could do anything, a tall, nicely dressed boy stepped in between them, his neat brown hair pushed back to show the scornful stare his green eyes gave Caralee. 

“Get out of the way Seymour!!” Caralee stated bluntly, “I’m about to get my big story”. 

Seymour didn’t say a word. Instead, the boy stuck out his finger and pointed it towards the camera, releasing a small bolt of lightning, not enough to hurt Caralee, but just enough to fry the camera, destroying the video footage. “WHAT THE HECK SEYMOUR?! THIS WAS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT”!!! 

“If Brooklyn says no to an interview, then it means no, next time you pull a stunt like that I’ll fry more than the camera, am I clear”? To any else Seymour would have sounded very calm and collected, but Brooklyn could feel, see, and hear the anger in his programming. 

Caralee stared at Brooklyn, then Seymour, and then her destroyed camera as she let out an angry huff and trudged back the way she came. Brooklyn wiped the tears from her eyes before looking up at Seymour who was still watching to make sure that Caralee was as far away as humanly possible. 

“I could have handled her on my own tin can” Brooklyn said, slightly agitated by the nindroid stepping into the situation. 

Seymour made no sound, simply turning to Brooklyn. He looked her in the eyes with the tiniest hint of a smile on his lips before deactivating his human disguise, revealing titanium skin and grayish purple hair, still neat and kept. 

“I know” he started, sticking his pointer and middle finger up as small sparks erupted from the tips of the fingers, “But Caralee Gossip is a spoiled brat who doesn’t deserve an ounce of your energy. Besides, your main focus should be yourself and your feelings”. 

Brooklyn broke eye contact with the nindroid and started to the front door, before feeling her arm get yanked, putting her right back to facing Seymour. “I don’t understand what you’re going through, to be completely honest I don't think I'll understand human emotions, but trust me when I say they need you right just as much as you need them. They miss you Brooklyn, they really do”. 

Brooklyn could feel the tears welling up, but decided to hide them by pulling Seymour into a tight embrace, leaving the nindroid in a very awkward and uncomfortable position. “ Aww tin can, I didn’t know you cared so much”. 

Seymour quickly shoved Brooklyn off of him and insisted they leave the school before Caralee found another camera. Brooklyn simply laughed, and the two of them made their way out of the school into the city, surprisingly with no sign of paparazzi or press. The two didn’t speak, and while the silence would have been awkward for a lot of people Brooklyn found it relaxing. She found something she wasn’t expecting in that moment; 

She found joy.

\----

The next school day went the same exact way it had been like everyday before. The morning was quiet and lonesome, and time seemed to drag on for an eternity until, finally, the bell rang for lunch. As Arthur made his way to his lunch table, a strange sound erupted from there, causing a confused expression to scrunch onto his face. As he got closer, the confusion turned into shock as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing and hearing; it was Brooklyn, sitting at their table, cracking jokes with everyone. 

Now standing in view of his friends, Brooklyn noticed him, giving a small smile to the boy, who just stood a few feet from the table in confusion. She patted to the chair next to her, “This seat isn’t taken you know. I promise I don’t bite…..that hard”. 

Arthur let out a chuckle as his shock melted into joy. He happily took the seat next to her, giving her a playful punch in the arm. The table that day was full of laughter and smiles, except for Seymour who was deep in a novel as always. The minutes felt like seconds, and in the blink of an eye lunch was over. As everyone made their way out of the cafeteria in preparation for the first afternoon class, Brooklyn felt a hand grip her shoulder, giving her the tiniest hint of deja vu from the day prior. She turned her head to see it was Arthur, who had the most sincere smile on his face she had ever seen. The two stood still for a moment, before Arthur released his grip on her shoulder 

“It’s good to have you back Brooklyn”. 

Brooklyn simply smiled, then proceeded to lightly punch Arthurs upper arm. 

“It’s good to be back”. 

\----

Footsteps echoed loudly throughout the large cave as a strange cloaked figure made its way through a tunnel of stone. The tunnel was dark, wet, and cold, making it the perfect place to recharge. The only thing visible in the tunnel was the parchment that was used as a map, currently clutched in a pitch black hand. After weeks of searching for the mountain, and several hours of moving through this rocky labyrinth, the figure entered a large cavern, revealing three neatly adorned tombs with mysterious glyphs sketched into the stone. 

The figure gave a wicked smile and raised their hand, causing blue flames to light up the torched circling the room. The figure began to move in a circular motion, moving their arms in a similar pattern, watching as their hands get darker and darker in color, and watching the darkness stretch upwards. Finally they stopped, and in less then a second they slammed their hands down, sending a dark aura in the direction of the stone tombs. The tombs became fully blanketed in the darkness for three seconds, before shattering completely, revealing three figures as they collapsed to the ground. 

The first one to stand was a tall sturdy built creature, with grey marble coloring. He had lion legs, huge feathered wings, along with deer ears and horns like a ram. His eyes were round and white, with no irises. He resembled a gargoyle, which ancient runes sketched into his body and a few symbols that adorned his face. His gaze went to his hands, then went straight to the figure that freed them, causing his eyes to somehow grow larger with fear. “I-it’s really you” he stammered, “I don’t believe it, it’s really yo-”

Before he could continue a large hack echoed through the cavern, shifting his gaze to the floor. He let out a tiny gasp before he quickly moved down to help stabilize the being next to him. The person in his large hands was much smaller in comparison, around the height of a high school girl. She was a similar shade of stone gray to the thing next to her, except she had skin rather than stone. Her only visible iris was a piercing pink, and her long and slender pointed ears pierced through onyx hair, which was short and spiky, with a dark purple that splattered her ends. She seemed dazed but quickly stabilized herself, and created a decently sized dark purple aura in her hand, “We’re really free”. 

The last figure to stand was another female, except she had a rather hypnotic female build. Her skin was pale green, she had upper and lower fangs hanging out her mouth, on her thick lips, Her tail, eyes, and accessories to her armor made it clear that she was part serpentine, especially with the plate of scales that adorned her forehead. “Of course we are” she said seductively, “I never doubted your return for a second” she said with passion now facing the cloaked figure. 

The wicked smile returned to the figure's face as it moved it’s head up to face the three sombrei. “Hello my trusted generals. You’ve been locked away for too long, the Overlord is no more, and we have been banished to this wretched land for eons. The centuries in that wretched Temple of Pure Light have greatly weakened me, but now I am free, and now with you by side we shall finish what the Overlord wasn’t able to do, together we will take back Ninjago”. 

The serpentine sombrei smiled, showing her sharp fangs, and walked towards the figure, cupping the creatures cheek, which they gratefully leaned into. “We are at your command Evos”. 

Evos snickered as she released his cheek and walked towards the other two, now standing in front of the elf like sombrei. “Jinx” she said in a wicked tone, “We’re going to need an army, and I know you can use your elemental power to cause some real trouble, can I trust you to bring me soldiers?” 

Jinx smiled as she lifted her fist up, showing off her purple aura once more, “I guess this is my lucky day” she said sarcastically with a malicious grin. 

Evos turned away and started walking towards the exit of the cavern, “Come my generals, we’ll build our army and stay in the shadows, regaining our strength. Then-”, they took a second to bring their hand to their face, glowing black and causing the veins in their pale skin to go dark as well”. 

“Then we strike”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys, I'm sorry for being away for so long, with school starting back up a while ago I haven't had time to really focus on the story, but now that I'm finding more time in my schedule I'm excited to continue it!!! I know this chapter was long, but I hope that also makes up for my disappearance. please don't feel shy to comment or give kudos, I love hearing you guys think about the story! stay tuned for chapter six! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading ! I'm not much of writer but after binging Ninjago on Netflix, for nostalgic purposes, I fell in love with this world, it's characters, and the fandom. I wanted to contribute something fun that I liked, and even though I'm pretty sure any writer on here can probably find so many errors, I'm very proud of this story I've come up with and I hope you enjoy it enough to want to keep reading.


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